Busy Time of the Year

In between tearing down the garden, soccer games, marching band festivals, vacation and everyday chores, I've been trying to work on a Graphic 45/Maya Road project for a class. I LOVE these papers!!!!

Every once in awhile a truism from my mom comes into my head..."never enough hours in the day." She was so right in so many ways.

When the time is there, the daylight is gone, or something else seems to crop up.

And I still have not finished the Last Oracle!!!

The weather has been so great here. I LOVE fall. If it just didn't come with so many allergies. I think I'm allergic to pond scum. Seriously, the algae on the lake was really bad in spots and it did make me cough.

Life....it beats the alternative!

Create ART!

Fall Garden

Impatiens, Hydrangeas, Snap Dragons, Geraniums, and Asters. A last look at the garden before it's gone for the year.

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Good news....the shipment of Idea-ology and Grungeboard came while I was gone. And it's all ready for the Wallet classes.

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Can't wait. It's gonna be fun.

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Watching the Sweeps....on my own TV!

Be Well.

St. Cloud and Crafts Direct-Whoo! Hoo!

Well, it is raining....still. But we had a great shopping trip to St. Cloud and Crafts Direct. My dear husband wants to personally thank Wanda for her tip on going there!!!! Kidding, Wanda. He was glad we didn't have to scout all over for some place to spend my money. We knew EXACTLY where to go!

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What a terrific place!!! It's like Michael's on steroids!!!! All the little individual storefronts are really cute. And they have that many sections clear to the back loaded with STUFF! They even had lots of Vintaj!!! I was amazed. And TONS of lines of papers and stamps of all kinds. ROWS of them.

I did my part to help the economy recover...and got some neat wooden things for an upcoming class.

The first picture up there is of another spot with a pretty reflection. Of course, my photography does not do Mother Nature justice. But I tried.

The Sea Gull...or as my sister-in-law Bonnie calls them, two legged rats....just wait for me to toss my minnow off the end of my hook so he can dive for it.

I'm going to read the rest of my book, so I can start the new Dan Brown one. We've been so busy I haven't gotten the other one done. Can't wait for this new one.

Then Bill can watch the game downstairs, and I'll watch the new shows upstairs in the loft. Oh, and Prime Rib tonight at the local "hot spot" Dino's.

What more could a girl ask for?

Last sleep over.....

My Guy-Happy on the Lake

Here's Bill with his own sighting....SeaRay shirt on his back. And running around in the boat for a week though a bunch of Lakes in Minnesota.

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We have had a wonderful time. The days and nights in the cabin....cool weather and we sleep like rocks after all that fresh air.

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This is a shot of the fish cleaning cabin that sits down near the water, and the docks with the benches to sit and just while away the time. They sit out there at night and fish for catfish. Me, I'm not fond of the bugs.....so I sit on the porch and watch them, drink coffee,and read my book.

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All the bakery goodies are almost gone. Must be time to go home. One more day.

We're going to St. Cloud shopping tomorrow!!!! YEAH!!!! Sorry, it's gonna rain tomorrow.

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Let you know if I find anything good....I already have a FRIENDS carving to go with my ART from a local shop.

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Be good to each other!

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Bill and Linda

Sunset on the Lake

I know this is a bit blurry, but this was the sunset and the crescent moon over the lake last night at Island View Resort.

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Pretty cool!

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For those of you who asked about the hoodie, you can email Mario and he'll set you right up with one. Tim and Co. are in Japan right now, but give them a few days and he'll get one for you.

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Mario@timholtz.com

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Your Friend in ART and shopping!

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Linda

Tim/Mario Hoodie Sighting!!!

I love reflections...sheet of glass.

What a fun filled day we had yesterday. Lots of fishing and eating fish and cleaning fish.

Mostly we released the fish. We caught several Catfish that are THE ugliest fish out there. They go right back where they came from, it's like catching a log!!!

The bass go back, too as well as the tiny little Blue Gills. But the Bass are fun to catch.

THEN one of my favorite things to do here, go to the Cold Springs Bakery!!!YEAH!

They have the greatest goodies there. We must pace ourselves for the rest of the week. That's where we had the HOODIE sighting. Going into the market there to get some supplies. Bill thought I was nuts, but he took the picture for me anyway.

What a guy!
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Be well....got to watch Linda Hunt tonight in the new NCIS LA. Has to be good!

Another Day-Another Picture

This is just too funny. I went to upload my picture of the catch of the day, and I found this wonderful picture of Emma when she was about 2. Had to share!!!

The other picture is inside the cabin....really nice for a fishing cabin. Should have closed the bathroom door....sorry.

AND, had to share one picture down in the fish-cleaning house with a Crappie (he's the one on the left).We're roughin' it so no shaving for Bill today. He caught a Northern, but I only had the cellphone camera. Not smart. We let him go, but we got a few Crappies of good size, some small Bluegill and a couple of Bass.

Supper for tonight!

Back out on the lake ...TTFN!

Linda aka Holtz

Hello Minnesota-UPDATE

Here's our cabin and here is one happy guy. To be out on the water again. See the little window upstairs???? That's where I am right now overlooking the fishhouse and the lake. If he's happy, I'M Happy!

Goodnight everybody! More tomorrow.

We made it. A LONG day on the road. About 10 and a half hours. I slept a lot of the morning away!

But Bill is happy to be here. The cabin is wonderful. I have an upstairs window overlooking the lake with a game table that is great for hooking up to the web. It pulled a signal just fine. I am so easily amused.

No pictures yet, but tomorrow I'll give that a shot. Our pontoon boat is right outside the cabin!!!!

Can't wait!!!

Be well, and be good to each other.

Vintaj, Alcohol Inks, and the Cropadile-UPDATE

UPDATE: I've had some people asking about where to buy Vintaj. On their site is a button to tell you where you can buy them...the shops in your area. They are carried by Bead Shops. That might help.

After I saw Vintaj's newsletter, I had to try my hand with the blanks~~these are all pieces of their fabulous Brass pieces.

I used Alcohol inks from Ranger and the Fillable Pen to add subtle color to the daisies to make this fun pendant.

AND Jess said the Cropadile works on the brass!!!!! And it does!!!! AMAZINGLY COOL!!!

I think we need a class here for this to share in the fun!!!!!

Have a fun day~Create Art

Happy Birthday Emma/Congrats ALEX!!!!!!

We had to celebrate Em's birthday early since we will be up North when she actually turns 5. Believe me, she DID NOT care!!!! Early was just fine with her.

Both girls got some presents and they played with the Barbie cash register all evening WITHOUT fighting!!!! AMAZING!!! Thank you Barbie.

Did you know, you can learn to use your credit card now with the help of Barbie? Yes, it's true. You have cash in your register, but the fastest way to get you out of the store, is with the Barbie Credit Card scanner.

A teaching toy......

And Em is in her Barbie cheerleader outfit that comes with one for Barbie just like it. A Barbie for every occasion. Wonderful.

NOW for ALEX my 15 year old grandson!!!!!! Ta-Ta-Ta-Da!!!! He passed his Eagle Scout test (2 hours long, mom was a nervous wreck) and will have his ceremony on Nov. 7th!!!!! WE ARE SOOOOO PROUD of the kid!!!!! He, and his family, have worked very, very, hard for this. That's why I had to move my class in Bloomington girls...thanks for all the help there.

I know if I ever have a medical problem out in the woods, or anywhere else without a doctor, I want this kid there....or Brit, she knows CPR, too. And he can survive in the wilderness for days!!! In an igloo.....freezing, or canoe down the river, or start a fire without matches, or text without looking....oh, that was just an added bonus.

Great job, AJ!!!!

Talked to Jess from Vintaj yesterday....some really cool things should be coming your way soon from both of us. I hate teasing, but this should be BIG TIME FUN for all of you.

Create ART.....of ALL forms!!!! (that's my motto)

Simple will have to wait for another day.....

Sorry, could not stand the simplicity of the deer.....had to "gaud" him up. Simple will have to wait.

Added Marmalade stickles over everything. Used a Permopaque Pen and highlighted the trees. More snowflakes, ribbon, bells and some twine. He's officially gaudy now. Much Better!!!! That's the new Graphic45 paper in the backgoround!!! VERY COOL!

Getting better with the notebook. The Geek boys are worth every penny!!! And the local guys fixed me right up, so I'll be "on-line" and on vacation!!!

Have a good one.....got the GDs for spagetti tonight. Dad's got his 2nd show already for Marching Band.

Go Morton!

Metal and Crackle Paint

We spent most of the day in Springfield again, only this time we were watching U10 Traveling Girls Soccer. Go BLAZE!!!

A Beautiful Day!

Then I came home and had an epiphany of using Tim's Deer on Mocha Metal stamped on the back and embossed. I spritzed with Perfect Pearls and rubbed some Champaign Glitz into the debossed areas. Hard to see here.

Gave it a try.....it is on a canvas with 2 shades of Crackle Paint and trees stamped with Adirondack Bottle Green.

Crackled and Glitzed the stars and added a dew drop.

Pretty simple. Simple is good sometimes.

Fun Day at Prairie Art Stamps!!!!

The St. Louis Gals...thanks for sharing Becky!

Did we have a BLAST or WHAT?????? Just a couple of pictures of the Works of Art. I LOVE Debbie's take on this. Vertical and sooooo cool. Definitely not done justice in the picture here.

The General definitely had an artistic flair to his work.

Deb really worked hard and had great success!!!!

Happy campers is what we want.

A terrific vertical piece....Stunning!!!

Great color combos here.

Thanks to Helene for the referral.....

The Mother and Daughter Team.

Judy helped so much...thanks!

My husband thinks this one makes you dizzy...Penny Smith did this and I liked it!

The St. Louis girls....never a dull moment! Ha!

I will sleep good tonight!!! The classes were soooooo much fun to see just how differently everyone thinks.

We turned the collages from horizontal to vertical. Some squares became diamonds. The General was working outside the box here, and it turned out great!

I took pictures of the collages. Since the books all turned out fabulous, but generally the same, I took a couple of pictures of the works in progress.

Many thanks to my St. Louis Rebels....the Court was there in part. However the Queen Mum is mending, and we send her our best wishes. Get Better Soon. And thank you for the little prize. Too cute!

And of course thanks to Helene who got Terri to bring me there to teach. A GREAT crew there in the store, thanks to all of you.

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We'll be back Oct. 31st for Grungeboard Wallets!!!! Reserve your spot now!!!

Whoo! Hoo!!! A NEW toy!

This is a test, and only a test!!!! Yea!!!!!

My wonderful husband is taking me up to Minnesota for a week at a beautiful new cabin on the lake....we love to fish. The new pontoon boat is waiting. New fishing line is on the poles.

The crisp clean air of the North in the Fall...beautiful. Trees turning colors reflecting in the lake under a bright blue sky. That's how I remember the last trip. Oh course I have seen it snow huge flakes across the lake, and rain like crazy, but we'll worry about that later.

And he bought me a surprise!!!! A new Toshiba Notebook!!!!!

So I'm playing on my new notebook. And I think I've got the basics down.....you can teach an old dog new tricks.

He didn't think I could stand to be away from the computer for 9 days....my email would have been crazy when I got home.


So I can sit upstairs in the loft and look out the window onto the lake and play with the new notebook while he cleans the fish. Hopefully I'll make a few things, too. The next trick is to upload to the jumpdrive with pictures.....hmmmmm.

Cross your fingers. Nothing is ever as easy as those kids at Best Buy make it sound!!! But I WILL give it a try!

Classes tomorrow at Prairie Art Stamps.....can't wait to see you there!

Your Friend in ART,

Linda

P.S. This man is a keeper!!!!!
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Flea Market Collage

Making some wall hanging changes in the Studio today, and I decided to take a picture of one of my collages. It's an old drawer.

This is a collection of several flea market finds, and a trip through my Brother-In-Laws garage!!!

The round piece is something I made during my polymer clay days.

I'm going to take it and add more things perhaps....thinking it could use more "junk" now. It's funny how our tastes change. I think it needs to be "junked up" just a bit!

Be well....be good to each other!

Linda

Memory Capsule Nudge from Tim

Margaret asked me to make up a sample using the memory capsules about a month ago.

I've messed around with it, but I think my teeny, tiny beads are too small for ME to get to work.

So, MOVE ON, and do something else. DUH!

I decided to try to use Ten Second Studio metal through the Cuttlebug as a background. Brr-Blue is the color. One of my new favorites.

A Butterfly from Graphic 45, a few Dew Drops, and a Doo Dad word. Glue it together with Glossy Accents and put it in the frame.

Add a couple of Idea-ology pieces on the top and bottom with a ball chain and the necklace is done.

Don't forget to put a piece of paper and the glass behind the metal!!! But you knew that.

Check out Tim's tutorial on this here from Ali Edward's blog.

It got me going!!!

RockStar Stamps

This is the cooooolest stamp set. I LOVE Tim's new Rockstar stamps. The detail on them is wonderful.

I tried some Lettuce Adirondack Embossing Powder on black cardstock. Then the Stars with Fired Brick Distress EB.

Last is the Holographic Embossing Powder(or Holistic as I called it in class Sunday in an allergy medicine stupor!) Ha! What a hoot! The stuff was a real hit in the class.

Photos do NOT do it justice and the different colors are amazing. This was the only angle I could shoot at to show the shine of the Holographic Powder....hence the out of focus shot.

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So easily amused....I should be called SEA for short...So Easily Amused!

Go Create Something!

ATC Fun

We did it!!!! It was a real challenge but we pulled it together. Cheryl and Linda...."the Broom" thanks for all the help, girl!

Susan and Kathy hard at work.

Deb and Carol....always done in a jiffy!

And the Mother-Daughter team, Elizabeth and Kiley, who really took off with great results. It's always a treat to have the younger set come in and use their own ideas and color combos. Their butterflies were fabulous!

And these two were really fun. Amy (R) brought her sister-in-law. Both cards different in their own ways. Amy is the new Designer at the shop!!!

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I finally remembered to take some pictures before everyone left. It was a fun day, and they all did a wonderful job of following directions. It was a must here as the tables were all doing different techniques at the same time. I slept well last night! The allergy meds kicked into full gear.

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Thanks to everyone....especially Jim and Margaret. Keep those shoppers coming into Scrapbook Friend'z!

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And don't forget to sign up for the Christmas Workshops. Check it out!!! We'll be making the little Grungeboard wallets/coin purse...whatever it is!

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Next weekend.....Prairie Art Stamps in Springfield....here we come!!!!!
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~~~~Create ART!~~~

A Simple Card

For some reason, Tim's deer has been calling for my attention lately. It is really beautiful with the flourishes through it. And yes, it's this bright. If you know this Bo Bunny Beautiful Life paper...the colors are very true here. You get this with layers and layers of ink on a light background.

I took manila paper and added Distress Inks to it. Stamped and embossed with Verdigris Antiquities. Then added Distress Rock Candy Crackle. That's why the antlers are so vibrant. The Crackle makes the colors really gorgeous.

I used the manila paper again for the sunset background. Many, many colors and layers. Then Tim's new Fabulous Flourish (my new ultimate accent!) Had to add the Flower and Leaves....it just still needed something.

The Film Strip was a perfect grounding for the deer and I used the little Paper Clips from Idea-ology to attach.

Some punched out stars with Suze's Champagne Glitz Stickles, a ribbon and we're done.

Just a simple card for a fun experience. I am sooooo easily amused!

2nd Generation Watercolor

Don't know what this will look like on the blog......so I'll upload it and see.

It's a 2nd generation of the Daisies watercolor from the other day.....the one that was going into the trash.

This is using the elements of PhotoCanvas to alter the picture. I thought I'd try that just messing around.

Still pondering whether to get Photoshop Illustrator or not. Granddaughter said I could do it. But if I can't she'd gladly take it off my hands!

What sacrificing kids!